By Ben Meiselas
This morning brought one of the most destabilizing sequences of events Donald Trump has faced since returning to the White House. A series of legal, political, and ethical crises converged at once, revealing a leader who appears increasingly unable to manage the consequences of his own decisions or the misconduct of the people he has empowered.
The first major development involved the Epstein files. The House formally transmitted the bipartisan resolution to release the documents to the United States Senate. The Senate had already approved the release through unanimous consent, which means the resolution is now sitting directly on Donald Trump’s desk. Trump campaigned on releasing these documents in 2024, yet he now stands as the final barrier to transparency. Epstein survivors, including some who previously supported Trump, are publicly expressing a sense of betrayal.
At nearly the same time, an explosive revelation surfaced concerning the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. Newly exposed court proceedings show that Lindsey Halligan, whom Trump elevated from his private legal circle into a federal prosecutorial role despite her having no prosecutorial experience, never presented the actual revised indictment in the Comey case to the grand jury. The grand jury rejected the first indictment. Protocol required her to return with a corrected version. Instead, the record now indicates she never presented that second indictment at all, despite acting as if it had been signed by the grand jury.
A federal judge confronted her directly, pointing out contradictions between her explanations and the official transcript. The issues were severe enough to cast doubt on the viability of the entire case. It now appears likely that the Comey prosecution will be dismissed and that Halligan may face significant professional consequences. The notion that a federal prosecutor claimed an indictment was approved by a grand jury that never saw it is virtually unheard of in modern American law.
Trump’s public behavior in the midst of all this added another layer of instability. Instead of addressing the legal and ethical crises unfolding around him, he spent the morning posting dozens of messages praising an old United Nations speech that had been widely mocked at the time. He also circulated photos of himself on a self-created “wall of fame” inside the White House and posted supportive messages about Halligan on the very day her conduct collapsed in open court.
At the same time, Russia intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian cities. More than twenty civilians were killed in Kharkiv in the last twenty-four hours, including several children. Despite this, Trump chose to boast online about being “tapped” for a Nobel Peace Prize.
His approval rating has also fallen to the lowest level recorded for any modern president. Even Fox News reported on the new Reuters poll showing the decline. The hosts attempted to inflate the number shown on the screen, a tiny but telling sign of how thoroughly misinformation permeates the Trump media ecosystem.
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OK, back to my report.
Meanwhile, Epstein survivors condemned Speaker Mike Johnson after he dismissed the bipartisan vote to release the files as political theater. Survivors who were physically present at the vote said the only theatrics they witnessed came from Johnson. Several, including former Trump voters, described deep feelings of betrayal.
Trump’s conduct outside the courtroom controversies only heightened the sense of corruption. At a major gathering at the Kennedy Center, he told Saudi officials he would expedite major military sales and suggested that standard approval processes could effectively be brushed aside. His comments came as his family and business network continued to benefit from vast Saudi-linked financial arrangements, reinforcing longstanding concerns about self-dealing.
A new Marist poll released this morning showed Democrats holding a fourteen-point lead over Republicans on the 2026 generic ballot, with a thirty-three-point lead among independents. Public sentiment is shifting decisively as Americans absorb the chaos and misconduct surrounding Trump and those he has empowered.
These events are not isolated incidents. They reveal a governing operation that is unraveling under the weight of its own corruption, incompetence, and disregard for the rule of law. The country is watching closely, and the consequences are becoming impossible for Trump to ignore.
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